Contact Information

Kaleida Health Donates $40,000 of Kitchen Equipment to Support Health Sciences Charter School

Updated: 3/11/2014

John Hennessey, vice president and chief information officer at Kaleida Health and member of the Health Sciences Charter School Board of Directors, and Jody Lomeo, interim president and CEO of Kaleida Health, joined students for lunch at Health Sciences Charter School.

Kaleida Health donated kitchen equipment from the former Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital to the Health Sciences Charter School be used in the school’s newly renovated kitchen.

Jody Lomeo, interim president and CEO of Kaleida Health, and John Hennessey, Kaleida Health vice president and chief information officer and member of the Health Sciences Charter School Board of Directors, attended the official dedication at the school on March 10, 2014. Kaleida Health is one of the founding members of the Health Sciences Charter School.

The equipment, valued at $40,000, includes refrigerators, cabinets, shelving, sinks, worktables, racks, and food processing tools among other items.

The donation has allowed Health Sciences Charter School to implement its own onsite food service program. Now, Health Sciences Charter School has greater control over the food service, quality, preparation, and menu selections available to students and staff.

For the first time, the school can purchase and store fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, food services staff now prepares a variety of interesting and desirable meal options for breakfast and lunch every day, including a daily fresh salad and soup bar and healthier grab-and-go items.

Prior to the kitchen renovations, all food was prepared offsite and delivered in cellophane wrapped plastic trays.

To build on the success of the kitchen renovation, Health Sciences Charter School is developing a curriculum that infuses health and wellness across all subjects so students know how to choose healthy meal options and take care of themselves. The school also launched an extracurricular cooking and nutrition club for students.

“We are grateful for this kitchen equipment which allows us to provide better services for our students,” said Dr. Hank Stopinski, high school principal. “We can now better meet the nutritional needs of our students and positively impact students’ ability to make healthy choices both at school and at home.”

More than 450 students benefit from the school lunch program, and 80 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunches. Breakfast is mandatory for all students.

Millard Fillmore Gates Circle closed in the spring of 2012 and its services were transferred to the new Gates Vascular Institute, located next to the Buffalo General Medical Center.

About Health Sciences Charter School

Health Sciences Charter School is a year-round public high school in Buffalo, NY that offers a rigorous college-prep education for grades 9-12. Students benefit from a specialized academic program that integrates hands-on training in the classroom, service learning and career skills training from local healthcare professionals, preparing students to pursue and obtain careers in the healthcare industry.

Opened in 2010, the school is on Ellicott Street in the former St. Vincent’s orphanage near the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Students from 50 middle schools throughout the region work to obtain New York State Regents or Advanced Regents diplomas in a safe, modern environment. The first class will graduate in June 2014.